Search results for: resistivity contrast

Authors: Samaila Muazu Bawa

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Hydration process, crack potential and setting time of concrete grade C30, C40 and C50 were separately monitored using non-contact electrical resistivity apparatus, a plastic ring mould and penetration resistance method respectively. The results show highest resistivity of C30 at the beginning until reaching the acceleration point when C50 accelerated and overtaken the others, and this period corresponds to its final setting time range, from resistivity derivative curve, hydration process can be divided into dissolution, induction, acceleration and deceleration periods, restrained shrinkage crack and setting time tests demonstrated the earliest cracking and setting time of C50, therefore, this method conveniently and rapidly determines the concrete’s crack potential. The highest inflection time (ti), the final setting time (tf) were obtained and used with crack time in coming up with mathematical models for the prediction of concrete’s cracking age for the range being considered. Finally, ANSYS numerical simulations supports the experimental findings in terms of the earliest crack age of C50 and the crack location that, highest stress concentration is always beneath the artificially introduced expansion joint of C50.

Keywords: concrete hydration, electrical resistivity, restrained shrinkage crack, ANSYS simulation

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Authors: Imran Aziz Tunio

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Islamkot is an underdeveloped sub-district (Taluka) in the Tharparkar district Sindh province of Pakistan located between latitude 24°25'19.79"N to 24°47'59.92"N and longitude 70° 1'13.95"E to 70°32'15.11"E. The Islamkot has an arid desert climate and the region is generally devoid of perennial rivers, canals, and streams. It is highly dependent on rainfall which is not considered a reliable surface water source and groundwater is the only key source of water for many centuries. To assess groundwater’s potential, an electrical resistivity survey (ERS) was conducted in Islamkot Taluka. Groundwater investigations for 128 Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) were collected to determine the groundwater potential and obtain qualitatively and quantitatively layered resistivity parameters. The PASI Model 16 GL-N Resistivity Meter was used by employing a Schlumberger electrode configuration, with half current electrode spacing (AB/2) ranging from 1.5 to 100 m and the potential electrode spacing (MN/2) from 0.5 to 10 m. The data was acquired with a maximum current electrode spacing of 200 m. The data processing for the delineation of dune sand aquifers involved the technique of data inversion, and the interpretation of the inversion results was aided by the use of forward modeling. The measured geo-electrical parameters were examined by Interpex IX1D software, and apparent resistivity curves and synthetic model layered parameters were mapped in the ArcGIS environment using the inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation technique. Qualitative interpretation of vertical electrical sounding (VES) data shows the number of geo-electrical layers in the area varies from three to four with different resistivity values detected. Out of 128 VES model curves, 42 nos. are 3 layered, and 86 nos. are 4 layered. The resistivity of the first subsurface layers (Loose surface sand) varied from 16.13 Ωm to 3353.3 Ωm and thickness varied from 0.046 m to 17.52m. The resistivity of the second subsurface layer (Semi-consolidated sand) varied from 1.10 Ωm to 7442.8 Ωm and thickness varied from 0.30 m to 56.27 m. The resistivity of the third subsurface layer (Consolidated sand) varied from 0.00001 Ωm to 3190.8 Ωm and thickness varied from 3.26 m to 86.66 m. The resistivity of the fourth subsurface layer (Silt and Clay) varied from 0.0013 Ωm to 16264 Ωm and thickness varied from 13.50 m to 87.68 m. The Dar Zarrouk parameters, i.e. longitudinal unit conductance S is from 0.00024 to 19.91 mho; transverse unit resistance T from 7.34 to 40080.63 Ωm2; longitudinal resistance RS is from 1.22 to 3137.10 Ωm and transverse resistivity RT from 5.84 to 3138.54 Ωm. ERS data and Dar Zarrouk parameters were mapped which revealed that the study area has groundwater potential in the subsurface.

Keywords: electrical resistivity survey, GIS & RS, groundwater potential, environmental assessment, VES

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Authors: Pelangi Wiyantika

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Sustainable energy is the main concern in According to solve any problems on energy sectors. One of the sustainable energy that has lack of presentation is Geothermal energy which has developed lately as the new promising sustainable energy. Indonesia as country that has been passed by the ring of fire zone has many geothermal sources. This is the good opportunity to elaborate and learn more about geothermal as sustainable and renewable energy. Geothermal systems have special characteristic whom the zone of sources can be detected by measuring the resistivity of the subsurface. There are many methods to measuring the anomaly of the systems. One of the best method is Magnetotelluric approchment. Magnetotelluric is the passive method which the resistivity is obtained by injecting the eddy current of rocks in the subsurface with the sources. The sources of Magnetotelluric method can be obtained from lightning or solar wind which has the frequencies each below 1 Hz and above 1 Hz.

Keywords: geothermal, magnetotelluric, renewable energy, resistivity, sustainable energy

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Authors: Ismail Borazan, Ayse Celik Bedeloglu, Ali Demir, David Carroll

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In this project, PEDOT:PSS layer was treated with formic acid, sulphuric acid, and hydrochloric acid, methanol, acetone, and dichlorobenzene:methanol. The resistivity measurements with 2-probes were carried out and the best-chosen method was employed to make an organic solar cell device.

Keywords: organic solar cells, PEDOT:PSS, polymer electrodes, resistivity

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Authors: Chinedu F. Anochie

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The deterioration of materials as a result of their interaction with the environment has been a huge challenge to engineering. Many steps have been taking to tackle corrosion and its effects on harmful effects on engineering materials and structures. Corrosion inhibition, coating, passivation, materials selection, and cathodic protection are some of the methods utilized to curtail the rate at which materials corrode. The use of sacrificial anodes (magnesium, aluminum, or zinc) to protect the metal of interest is a widespread technique used to prevent corrosion in underground structures, ship hauls, and other structures susceptible to corrosion attack. However, certain factors, like resistivity, affect the performance of sacrificial anodes. To establish the effect of soil resistivity on the effectiveness of a cathodic protection system, a mild steel specimen was cathodically protected around Workshop 2 area, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Design calculations showed that one zinc anode was sufficient to protect the pipe. The specimen (mild steel pipe) was coated with white and black polykene tapes and was subsequently buried in a high resistivity soil. The pipe-to-soil potential measurements were obtained using a digital fluke multimeter. The protection potential obtained on installation was higher than the minimum protection criteria. However, the potential results obtained over a fourteen-day intervals continually decreased to a value significantly lower than the minimum protection criteria. This showed that the sacrificial anode (zinc) was rendered ineffective by the high resistivity of the area of installation. It has been shown that the resistivity of the soil has a marked effect on the feasibility of cathodic protection systems. This work justified that zinc anode cannot be used for cathodic protection around Workshop 2 area, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, because of the high resistivity of the area. An experimental data which explains the effectiveness of galvanic anode cathodic protection system on corrosion control of a small steel structure, exposed to a soil of high resistivity has been established.

Keywords: cathodic protection, corrosion, pipe, sacrificial anode

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Authors: Maysoon Khalil Askar

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The delineation of possible areas of corrosion along the external face of an underground oil pipeline in Trunk line of Al- Garraf oil field was investigated using the horizontal electrical resistivity profiling technique and study the contribution of pH, Moisture Content in Soil and Presence chlorides, sulfates and total dissolve salts in soil and water. The test sites represent a physical and chemical properties of soils. The hydrogen-ion concentration of soil and groundwater range from 7.2 to 9.6, and the resistivity values of the soil along the pipeline were obtained using the YH302B model resistivity meter having values between 1588 and 720 Ohm-cm. the chloride concentration in soil and groundwater is high (more than 1000 ppm), total soulable salt is more than 5000 ppm, and sulphate range from 0.17% and 0.98% in soil and more than 600 ppm in groundwater. The soil is poor aeration, the soil texture is fine (clay and silt soil), the water content is high (the groundwater is close to surface), the chloride and sulphate is high in the soil and groundwater, the total soulable salt is high in ground water and finally the soil electric resistivity is low that the soil is very corrosive and there is the possibility of the pipeline failure. These methods applied in the study are quick, economic and efficient for detecting along buried pipelines which need to be protected. Routine electrical geophysical investigations along buried oil pipelines should be undertaken for the early detection and prevention of pipeline failure with its attendant environmental, human and economic consequences.

Keywords: soil resistivity, corrosion, cathodic protection, chloride concentration, water content

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Authors: Fathi Ali Swaid

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The CBR test is widely used in the assessment of granular materials in base, subbase and subgrade layers of road and airfield pavements. Despite the success of this method, but it depends on a limited numbers of soil samples. This limitation do not adequately account for the spatial variability of soil properties. Thus, assessment is derived using these cursory soil data are likely to contain errors and thus make interpretation and soil characterization difficult. On the other hand quantitative methods of soil inventory at the field scale involve the design and adoption of sampling regimes and laboratory analysis that are time consuming and costly. In the latter case new technologies are required to efficiently sample and observe the soil in the field. This is particularly the case where soil bearing capacity is prevalent, and detailed quantitative information for determining its cause is required. In this paper, an electrical resistivity method DC is described and its application in Elg'deem Dirt road, located in Gasser Ahmad - Misurata, Libya. Results from the DC instrument were found to be correlated with the CBR values (r2 = 0.89). Finally, it is noticed that, the correlation can be used with experience for determining CBR value using basic soil electrical resistivity measurements and checked by few CBR test representing a similar range of CBR.

Keywords: California bearing ratio, basic soil electrical resistivity, CBR, soil, subgrade, new technologies

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Authors: Yusuf Kaygısız, Necmetti̇n Maraşlı

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Aluminum alloys are produced and used at various areas of industry and especially in the aerospace industry. The advantages of these alloys over traditional iron-based alloys are lightweight, corrosion resistance, and very good thermal and electrical conductivity. The aim of this work is to experimentally investigate the effect of growth rates on the eutectic spacings (λ), microhardness, tensile strength and electrical resistivity in Al–30wt.%Cu–6wt.%Mg eutectic alloy. Al–Cu–Mg eutectic alloy was directionally solidified at a constant temperature gradient (G=8.55 K/mm) with different growth rates, 9.43 to 173.3 µm/s by using a Bridgman-type furnace. The dependency of microstructure, microhardness, tensile strength and electrical resistivity for directionally solidified the Al-Cu-Mg eutectic alloy were investigated. Eutectic microstructure is consisting of regular Al2CuMg lamellar and Al2Cu rod phases with in the α (Al) solid solution matrix. The lamellar eutectic spacings were measured from transverse sections of the samples. It was found that the value of microstructures decrease with the increase the value the growth rates. The microhardness, tensile strength and electrical resistivity of the alloy also were measured from sample and relationships between them were experimentally analyzed by using regression analysis. According to present results, values tensile strength and electrical resistivity increase with increasing growth rates.

Keywords: directional solidification, aluminum alloys, microstructure, electrical properties, hardness test

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Authors: Mayank Sharma

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Groundwater has been a matter of great concern in the past years due to the depletion in the water table. This has resulted from the over-exploitation of groundwater resources. Sub-surface exploration of groundwater is a great way to identify the groundwater potential of an area. Thus, in order to meet the water needs for irrigation in the study area, there was a need for a tube well to be installed. Therefore, a Geophysical investigation was carried out to find the most suitable point of drilling and sinking of tube well that encounters an aquifer. Hence, an electrical resistivity survey of geophysical exploration was used to know the aquifer zones of the area. The Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) method was employed to know the subsurface geology of the area. Seven vertical electrical soundings using Schlumberger electrode array were carried out, having the maximum AB electrode separation of 700m at selected points in Ayma, Kharagpur-1 block of Paschim Midnapore district, West Bengal. The VES was done using an IGIS DDR3 Resistivity meter up to an approximate depth of 160-180m. The data was interpreted, processed and analyzed. Based on all the interpretations using the direct method, the geology of the area at the points of sounding was interpreted. It was established that two deeper clay-sand sections exist in the area at a depth of 50-70m (having resistivity range of 40-60ohm-m) and 70-160m (having resistivity range of 25-35ohm-m). These aquifers will provide a high yield of water which would be sufficient for the desired irrigation in the study area.

Keywords: VES method, Schlumberger method, electrical resistivity survey, geophysical exploration

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Authors: S. Yunus, A. Suratman, N. Mohamad Nor, M. Othman

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This paper presents the measurement and simulation results by Finite Element Method (FEM) for earth resistance (R_DC) for interconnected vertical ground rod configurations. The soil resistivity was measured using the Wenner four-pin Method, and R_DC was measured using the Fall of Potential (FOP) method, as outlined in the standard. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is employed to interpret the soil resistivity to that of a 2-layer soil model. The same soil resistivity data that were obtained by Wenner four-pin method were used in FEM for simulation. This paper compares the results of R_DC obtained by FEM simulation with the real measurement at field site. A good agreement was seen for R_DC obtained by measurements and FEM. This shows that FEM is a reliable software to be used for design of earthing systems. It is also found that the parallel rod system has a better performance compared to a similar setup using a grid layout.

Keywords: earthing system, earth electrodes, finite element method, genetic algorithm, earth resistances

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Authors: Vijaya Pradhan, S. M. Deshpande, D. G. Regulwar

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Intense hydrogeological research has been prompted by the rising groundwater demand in typical hard rock terrain. In the current study, groundwater resources for irrigation in the canal command of the Jayakwadi Reservoir in the Indian state of Maharashtra are located using Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES). A Computer Resistivity Monitor is used to monitor the geoelectric field (CRM). Using Schlumberger setups, the investigation was carried out at seven different places in the region. Plotting of the sounding curves is the outcome of the data processing. The underlying layers and groundwater potential in the research region have been examined by analyzing these curves using curve-matching techniques, also known as partial curve matching. IPIWin2 is used to examine the relationship between resistivity and electrode spacing. The resistivity value in a geological formation is significantly reduced when groundwater is present. Up to a depth of 35 meters, the resistivity readings are minimal; beyond that, they continuously increase, suggesting a lack of water in deeper strata. As a result, the wells may only receive water up to a depth of 35 meters. In addition, the trap may occasionally fracture at deeper depths, retaining a limited amount of water in the cracks and producing a low yield. According to the findings, weathered basalt or soil make up the top layer (5–10 m), which is followed by a layer of amygdaloidal basalt (10–35 m) that is somewhat cracked and either hard basalt or compact basalt underneath.

Keywords: vertical electrical soundings (VES), resistivity, electrode spacing, Schlumberger configurations, partial curve matching.

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Authors: Prarabdh Tiwari, M. Vidya Sagar, K. Bhima Raju, Joy Choudhury, Subash Chandra, E. Nagaiah, Shakeel Ahmed

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Passive seismic, a wavefield interferometric imaging, low cost and rapid tool for subsurface investigation is used for various geotechnical purposes such as hydrocarbon exploration, seismic microzonation, etc. With the recent advancement, its application has also been extended to groundwater exploration by means of finding the bedrock depth. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has experimented passive seismic studies along with electrical resistivity tomography for groundwater in hard rock (Choutuppal, Hyderabad). Passive Seismic with Electrical Resistivity (ERT) can give more clear 2-D subsurface image for Groundwater Exploration in Hard Rock area. Passive seismic data were collected using a Tromino, a three-component broadband seismometer, to measure background ambient noise and processed using GRILLA software. The passive seismic results are found corroborating with ERT (Electrical Resistivity Tomography) results. For data acquisition purpose, Tromino was kept over 30 locations consist recording of 20 minutes at each station. These location shows strong resonance frequency peak, suggesting good impedance contrast between different subsurface layers (ex. Mica rich Laminated layer, Weathered layer, granite, etc.) This paper presents signature of passive seismic for hard rock terrain. It has been found that passive seismic has potential application for formation characterization and can be used as an alternative tool for delineating litho-stratification in an urban condition where electrical and electromagnetic tools cannot be applied due to high cultural noise. In addition to its general application in combination with electrical and electromagnetic methods can improve the interpreted subsurface model.

Keywords: passive seismic, resonant frequency, Tromino, GRILLA

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Authors: Javed Khan, Aamir Saeed Malik, Nidal Kamel, Sarat Chandra Dass, Azura Mohd Affandi

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Low contrast images can result from the wrong setting of image acquisition or poor illumination conditions. Such images may not be visually appealing and can be difficult for feature extraction. Contrast enhancement of color images can be useful in medical area for visual inspection. In this paper, a new technique is proposed to improve the contrast of color images. The RGB (red, green, blue) color image is transformed into normalized RGB color space. Adaptive histogram equalization technique is applied to each of the three channels of normalized RGB color space. The corresponding channels in the original image (low contrast) and that of contrast enhanced image with adaptive histogram equalization (AHE) are morphed together in proper proportions. The proposed technique is tested on seventy color images of acne patients. The results of the proposed technique are analyzed using cumulative variance and contrast improvement factor measures. The results are also compared with decorrelation stretch. Both subjective and quantitative analysis demonstrates that the proposed techniques outperform the other techniques.

Keywords: contrast enhacement, normalized RGB, adaptive histogram equalization, cumulative variance.

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Authors: Ime R. Udotong, Justina I. R. Udotong, Ofonime U. M. John

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Ibeno, Nigeria hosts the operational base of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil and the current highest oil and condensate producer in Nigeria. Besides MPNU, other oil companies operate onshore, on the continental shelf and deep offshore of the Atlantic Ocean in Ibeno, Nigeria. This study was designed to delineate oil polluted sites in Ibeno, Nigeria using geophysical methods of electrical resistivity (ER) and ground penetrating radar (GPR). Results obtained revealed that there have been hydrocarbon contaminations of this environment by past crude oil spills as observed from high resistivity values and GPR profiles which clearly show the distribution, thickness and lateral extent of hydrocarbon contamination as represented on the radargram reflector tones. Contaminations were of varying degrees, ranging from slight to high, indicating levels of substantial attenuation of crude oil contamination over time. Moreover, the display of relatively lower resistivities of locations outside the impacted areas compared to resistivity values within the impacted areas and the 3-D Cartesian images of oil contaminant plume depicted by red, light brown and magenta for high, low and very low oil impacted areas, respectively confirmed significant recent pollution of the study area with crude oil.

Keywords: electrical resistivity, geophysical investigations, ground penetrating radar, oil-polluted sites

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Authors: Aynur Aker, Hasan Kaya

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In recent years, the use of the aluminum based alloys in the industry and technology are increasing. Alloying elements in aluminum have further been improving the strength and stiffness properties that provide superior compared to other metals. In this study, investigation of physical properties (microstructure, microhardness, tensile strength, electrical conductivity and thermal properties) in the Al-12.6wt.%Si-%2wt.Ni ternary alloy were investigated. Al-Si-Ni alloy was prepared in a graphite crucible under vacuum atmosphere. The samples were directionally solidified upwards with different growth rate (V) at constant temperature gradient G (7.73 K/mm). The microstructures (flake spacings, λ), microhardness (HV), ultimate tensile strength, electrical resistivity and thermal properties enthalpy of fusion and specific heat and melting temperature) of the samples were measured. Influence of the growth rate and flake spacings on microhardness, ultimate tensile strength and electrical resistivity were investigated and relationships between them were experimentally obtained by using regression analysis. According to results, λ values decrease with increasing V, but microhardness, ultimate tensile strength, electrical resistivity values increase with increasing V. Variations of electrical resistivity for cast samples with the temperature in the range of 300-1200 K were also measured by using a standard dc four-point probe technique. The enthalpy of fusion and specific heat for the same alloy was also determined by means of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) from heating trace during the transformation from liquid to solid. The results obtained in this work were compared with the previous similar experimental results obtained for binary and ternary alloys.

Keywords: electrical resistivity, enthalpy, microhardness, solidification, tensile stress

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Authors: Sujith Rajashekar Swamy, Meghana Rajashekara Swamy

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Although T1-weighted gadolinium-enhanced imaging (T1-Gd) has its established clinical role in diagnosing brain lesions of infectious and metastatic origins, the use of post-contrast susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) has been understudied. This observational study aims to explore and compare the prominence of brain parenchymal lesions between T1-Gd and SWI-Gd images. A cross-sectional study design was utilized to analyze 58 patients with brain parenchymal lesions using T1-Gd and SWI-Gd scanning techniques. Our results indicated that SWI-Gd enhanced the conspicuity of metastatic as well as infectious brain lesions when compared to T1-Gd. Consequently, it can be used as an adjunct to T1-Gd for post-contrast imaging, thereby avoiding additional contrast administration. Improved conspicuity of brain lesions translates directly to enhanced patient outcomes, and hence SWI-Gd imaging proves useful to meet that endpoint.

Keywords: susceptibility weighted, T1 weighted, brain lesions, gadolinium contrast

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Authors: D. Geringswald, B. Hintze

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The miniaturization of circuits is advancing. During chip manufacturing, structures are filled for example by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Since this process reaches its limits in case of very high aspect ratios, the use of alternatives such as the atomic layer deposition (ALD) is possible, requiring the extension of existing coating systems. However, it is an unsolved question to what extent MOCVD can achieve results similar as an ALD process. In this context, this work addresses the characterization of a metal organic vapor deposition of titanium nitride. Based on the current state of the art, the film properties coating thickness, sheet resistance, resistivity, stress and chemical composition are considered. The used setting parameters are temperature, plasma gas ratio, plasma power, plasma treatment time, deposition time, deposition pressure, number of cycles and TDMAT flow. The derived process instructions for unstructured wafers and inside a structure with high aspect ratio include lowering the process temperature and increasing the number of cycles, the deposition and the plasma treatment time as well as the plasma gas ratio of hydrogen to nitrogen (H₂:N₂). In contrast to the current process configuration, the deposited titanium nitride (TiN) layer is more uniform inside the entire test structure. Consequently, this paper provides approaches to employ the MOCVD for structures with increasing aspect ratios.

Keywords: ALD, high aspect ratio, PE-MOCVD, TiN

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Authors: C. G. Jinimole, A. Harsha

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One of the key problems facing in the analysis of Computed Tomography (CT) images is the poor contrast of the images. Image enhancement can be used to improve the visual clarity and quality of the images or to provide a better transformation representation for further processing. Contrast enhancement of images is one of the acceptable methods used for image enhancement in various applications in the medical field. This will be helpful to visualize and extract details of brain infarctions, tumors, and cancers from the CT image. This paper presents a comparison study of five contrast enhancement techniques suitable for the contrast enhancement of CT images. The types of techniques include Power Law Transformation, Logarithmic Transformation, Histogram Equalization, Contrast Stretching, and Laplacian Transformation. All these techniques are compared with each other to find out which enhancement provides better contrast of CT image. For the comparison of the techniques, the parameters Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Mean Square Error (MSE) are used. Logarithmic Transformation provided the clearer and best quality image compared to all other techniques studied and has got the highest value of PSNR. Comparison concludes with better approach for its future research especially for mapping abnormalities from CT images resulting from Brain Injuries.

Keywords: computed tomography, enhancement techniques, increasing contrast, PSNR and MSE

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Authors: Dharshika Rajalingam, Jeffery W. Peng

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Acinetobacter baumannii is a challenging threat to global health, recognized as a multidrug-resistant pathogen. -lactamase is one of the principal resistant mechanisms developed by A. baumannii to survive against -lactam antibiotics. OXA24/40 is one of the types of -lactamases, a well-documented carbapenem hydrolyzing class D -lactamases (CHDL). It was revealed that OXA24/40 showed resistivity against doripenem, one of the carbapenems, by two different mechanisms as hydrolysis and -lactonization. Furthermore, it undergoes genetic mutations to broaden the -lactamase activity to survive against antibiotic environments. One of the crucial characterizations of prokaryotes to develop adaptation is post-translational modification (PTM), mainly phosphorylation. However, the PTM of OXA24/40 is an unknown feature, and the impact of PTM on antibiotic resistivity is yet to be explored. We approached these hypotheses using NMR and MS techniques and found that the OXA24/40 could be phosphorylated in vitro. The Ser81 at the active STFK motif of OXA24/40 of catalytic pocket was identified as the site of phosphorylation using 1D 31P NMR experiment, whereas S81 is required to form an acyl-enzyme complex between enzyme and -lactam antibiotics. The activity of completely phosphorylated OXA24/40 wild type against doripenem revealed that the phosphorylation of active Ser inactivates the -lactamases activity of OXA24/40. The 1D 1H CPMG NMR-based activity assay of phosphorylated OXA24/40 against doripenem confirmed that both deactivating mechanisms are inhibited by phosphorylation. Carbamylated Lysine at the active STFK motif is one of the critical features of CHDL required for the acylation and deacylation reactions of the enzyme. The 1D 13C NMR experiment confirmed that the K84 of phosphorylated OXA24/40 is de-carbamylated. Phosphorylation of OXA24/40 affects both active S81 and carbamylated K84 of OXA24 that are required for the resistivity of -lactamase. So, phosphorylation could be one of the reasons for the genetic mutation of OXA24/40 for the development of antibiotic resistivity. Further research can lead to an understanding of the effect of phosphorylation on the clinical mutants of the OXA24-like -lactamase family on the broadening of -lactamase activity.

Keywords: OXA24/40, phosphorylation, clinical mutants, resistivity

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Authors: Onifade Yemi Sikiru, Vwoke Eruya

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An investigation has been made of the groundwater potentials of Erusu-Arigidi, Ondo State, Nigeria and using an electrical resistivity survey. This study was motivated to determine the electrical resistivity parameters of the area. This work aims to use the electrical resistivity method to explore the groundwater potentials of the study area. A total of ten vertical electrical soundings (VES) were conducted with a maximum electrode spacing of 150 m. The data was acquired using ABEM SAS 1000 Terrameter and processed using WINRESIST. The interpreted and analyzed results reveal four to six geoelectric layers. The VES curves obtained were QH, H, AAA, HKH, and HA. Findings from the study revealed that the geoelectric layer ranges from 3 to 5 layers. From the result, the Dar Zarrouk parameters longitudinal conductance (S) and transverse resistance (Tr), average longitudinal resistance (), transverse resistivity (), coefficient of anisotropy (λ), and reflection coefficient ranges from 0.22 to 1.45mhos, 67.12 to 4262.91 Ω/m², 8.81 to 76.12 Ω-m, 12.0 to 243.5 Ωm², 1.01 to 1.78, and 0.72 to 0.99 respectively. Deduction from S suggested that groundwater tends to be slightly vulnerable to surface contamination. Further findings from Dar Zarrouk parameters revealed that southwest parts of the study area tend to have high groundwater potential when compared to other parts of the study area. While hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity range from 0.003 to 0.051m/day, and 11.16 to 158.30m²/day, results obtained from H and T revealed northwest parts of the study area are considered to be aquiferous when compared to other parts of the research area.

Keywords: variation, isoresistivity, hydraulic conductivity, groundwater

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Authors: Rais Yusoh, Rosli Saad, Mokhtar Saidin, Fauzi Andika, Sabiu Bala Muhammad

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Resistivity and seismic refraction profiling have become a common method in pre-investigations for visualizing subsurface structure. The integration of the methods could reduce an interpretation ambiguity. Both methods have their individual software packages for data inversion, but potential to combine certain geophysical methods are restricted; however, the research algorithms that have this functionality was existed and are evaluated personally. The interpretation of subsurface were improve by combining inversion data from both methods by influence each other models using closure coupling; thus, by implementing both methods to support each other which could improve the subsurface interpretation. These methods were applied on a field dataset from a pre-investigation for archeology in finding the ancient river. There were no major changes in the inverted model by combining data inversion for this archetype which probably due to complex geology. The combine data analysis provides an additional technique for interpretation such as an alluvium, which can have strong influence on the ancient river findings.

Keywords: ancient river, combine inversion, resistivity, seismic refraction

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Authors: Pradeep Kumar Singh Chauhan, Gayatri Devi, Zamir Ahmad, Komal Chauhan, Abha Mittal

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The application of geophysical methods to study the subsurface profile for site investigation is becoming popular globally. These methods are non-destructive and provide the image of subsurface at shallow depths. Seismic refraction method is one of the most common and efficient method being used for civil engineering site investigations particularly for knowing the seismic velocity of the subsurface layers. Resistivity imaging technique is a geo-electrical method used to image the subsurface, water bearing zone, bedrock and layer thickness. Integrated approach combining seismic refraction and 2-D resistivity imaging will provide a better and reliable picture of the subsurface. These are economical and less time-consuming field survey which provide high resolution image of the subsurface. Geophysical surveys carried out in this study include seismic refraction and 2D resistivity imaging method for delineation of sub-surface strata in different parts of Srinagar, Garhwal Himalaya, India. The aim of this survey was to map the shallow subsurface in terms of geological and geophysical properties mainly P-wave velocity, resistivity, layer thickness, and lithology of the area. Both sides of the river, Alaknanda which flows through the centre of the city, have been covered by taking two profiles on each side using both methods. Seismic and electrical surveys were carried out at the same locations to complement the results of each other. The seismic refraction survey was carried out using ABEM TeraLoc 24 channel Seismograph and 2D resistivity imaging was performed using ABEM Terrameter LS equipment. The results show three distinct layers on both sides of the river up to the depth of 20 m. The subsurface is divided into three distinct layers namely, alluvium extending up to, 3 m depth, conglomerate zone lying between the depth of 3 m to 15 m, and compacted pebbles and cobbles beyond 15 m. P-wave velocity in top layer is found in the range of 400 – 600 m/s, in second layer it varies from 700 – 1100 m/s and in the third layer it is 1500 – 3300 m/s. The resistivity results also show similar pattern and were in good agreement with seismic refraction results. The results obtained in this study were validated with an available exposed river scar at one site. The study established the efficacy of geophysical methods for subsurface investigations.

Keywords: 2D resistivity imaging, P-wave velocity, seismic refraction survey, subsurface

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Authors: Lise Paule Labéjof, Raíza Sales Pereira Bizerra, Galileu Barbosa Costa, Thaísa Barros dos Santos

Abstract:

Since the beginning of the microscopy, improving the image quality has always been a concern of its users. Especially for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the problem is even more important due to the complexity of the sample preparation technique and the many variables that can affect the conservation of structures, proper operation of the equipment used and then the quality of the images obtained. Animal tissues being transparent it is necessary to apply a contrast agent in order to identify the elements of their ultrastructural morphology. Several methods of contrastation of tissues for TEM imaging have already been developed. The most used are the “in block” contrastation and “in situ” contrastation. This report presents an alternative technique of application of contrast agent in vivo, i.e. before sampling. By this new method the electromicrographies of the tissue sections have better contrast compared to that in situ and present no artefact of precipitation of contrast agent. Another advantage is that a small amount of contrast is needed to get a good result given that most of them are expensive and extremely toxic.

Keywords: image quality, microscopy research, staining technique, ultra thin section

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Authors: M. Al Nur, M. S. Kaiser

Abstract:

Corrosion behaviour of hypereutectic Al-19Si automotive alloy in different pH=1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 environments was carried out using conventional gravimetric measurements and was complemented by resistivity, optical micrograph, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray analyzer (EDX) investigations. Gravimetric analysis confirmed that the highest corrosion rate is shown at pH 13 followed by pH 1. Minimum corrosion occurs in the pH range of 3.0 to 11 due to establishment of passive layer on the surface. The highest corrosion rate at pH 13 is due to the presence of sodium hydroxide in the solution which dissolves the surface oxide film at a steady rate. At pH 1, it can be attributed that the presence of aggressive chloride ions serves to pick up the damage of the passive films at localized regions. With varying exposure periods by both, the environment complies with the normal corrosion rate profile that is an initial steep rise followed by a nearly constant value of corrosion rate. Resistivity increases in case of pH 1 solution for the higher pit formation and decreases at pH 13 due to formation of thin film. The SEM image of corroded samples immersed in pH 1 solution clearly shows pores on the surface and in pH 13 solution, and the corrosion layer seems more compact and homogenous and not porous.

Keywords: Al-Si alloy, corrosion, pH, resistivity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

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Authors: Koushlendra Kumar Singh, Manish Kumar Bajpai, Rajesh K. Pandey

Abstract:

The edges of low contrast images are not clearly distinguishable to the human eye. It is difficult to find the edges and boundaries in it. The present work encompasses a new approach for low contrast images. The Chebyshev polynomial based fractional order filter has been used for filtering operation on an image. The preprocessing has been performed by this filter on the input image. Laplacian of Gaussian method has been applied on preprocessed image for edge detection. The algorithm has been tested on two test images.

Keywords: low contrast image, fractional order differentiator, Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) method, chebyshev polynomial

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Authors: Wanhyun Cho, Seongchae Seo, Soonja Kang

Abstract:

In this work, we propose a variational technique for image contrast enhancement which utilizes global and local information around each pixel. The energy functional is defined by a weighted linear combination of three terms which are called on a local, a global contrast term and dispersion term. The first one is a local contrast term that can lead to improve the contrast of an input image by increasing the grey-level differences between each pixel and its neighboring to utilize contextual information around each pixel. The second one is global contrast term, which can lead to enhance a contrast of image by minimizing the difference between its empirical distribution function and a cumulative distribution function to make the probability distribution of pixel values becoming a symmetric distribution about median. The third one is a dispersion term that controls the departure between new pixel value and pixel value of original image while preserving original image characteristics as well as possible. Second, we derive the Euler-Lagrange equation for true image that can achieve the minimum of a proposed functional by using the fundamental lemma for the calculus of variations. And, we considered the procedure that this equation can be solved by using a gradient decent method, which is one of the dynamic approximation techniques. Finally, by conducting various experiments, we can demonstrate that the proposed method can enhance the contrast of colour images better than existing techniques.

Keywords: color image, contrast enhancement technique, variational approach, Euler-Lagrang equation, dynamic approximation method, EME measure

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Authors: J. Ramirez, A. Maldonado, M. de la L. Olvera

Abstract:

The effect of both the molar concentration of the starting solution and the substrate temperature on the electrical, morphological, structural and optical properties of chemically sprayed fluorine-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:F) thin films deposited on glass substrates, is analyzed in this work. All the starting solutions employed were aged for ten days before the deposition. The results show that as the molar concentration increases, a decrease in the electrical resistivity values is obtained, reaching the minimum in films deposited from a 0.4 M solution at 500°C. A further increase in the molar concentration leads to a very slight increase in the resistivity. On the other hand, as the substrate temperature is increased, the resistivity decreases and a tendency towards to minimum value is evidenced; taking the molar concentration as parameter, minimum values are reached at 500°C. The attain of ZnO:F thin films, with a resistivity as low as 7.8×10-3 Ώcm (sheet resistance of 130 Ώ/☐ and film thickness of 600 nm) measured in as-deposited films is reported here for the first time. The concurrent effect of the high molar concentration of the starting solution, the substrate temperature values used, and the ageing of the starting solution, which might cause polymerization of the zinc ions with the fluorine species, enhance the electrical properties. The structure of the films is polycrystalline, with a (002) preferential growth. Molar concentration rules the surface morphology as at low concentration an hexagonal and porous structure is developed changing to a uniform compact and small grain size surface in the films deposited with the high molar concentrations.

Keywords: zinc oxide, chemical spray, thin films, TCO

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Authors: Abdelghani Boucheham, Djoudi Bouhafs, Nabil Khelifati, Baya Palahouane

Abstract:

The main aim of this study is to investigate the low temperature internal gettering of manganese and chromium transition metals content in p-type multicrystalline silicon grown by Heat Exchanger Method (HEM). The minority carrier lifetime variation, the transition metal elements behavior, the sheet resistivity and the interstitial oxygen concentration after different temperatures annealing under N2 ambient were investigated using quasi-steady state photoconductance technique (QSSPC), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), four-probe measurement and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), respectively. The obtained results indicate in the temperature range of 300°C to 700°C that the effective lifetime increases and reaches its maximum values of 28 μs at 500 °C and decreasing to 6 μs at 700 °C. This amelioration is due probably to metallic impurities internal gettering in the extended defects and in the oxygen precipitates as observed on SIMS profiles and the FTIR spectra. From 300 °C to 500 °C the sheet resistivity values rest unchanged at 30 Ohm/sq and rises significantly to reach 45 Ohm/sq for T> 500 °C.

Keywords: mc-Si, low temperature annealing, internal gettering, minority carrier lifetime, interstitial oxygen, resistivity

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Authors: Redrisse Djoumessi Fobasso, Baidyanath Sahu, Andre M. Strydom

Abstract:

The R₂TX₃ (R = rare-earth, T = transition, and X = s and p block element) series of compounds are interesting owing to their fascinating structural and magnetic properties. In this present work, we have studied the magnetic and physical properties of the new Gd₂AgSi₃ polycrystalline compound. The sample was synthesized by the arc-melting method and confirmed to crystallize in the tetragonal α-ThSi₂-type crystal structure with space group I4/amd. Dc– and ac–magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance measurements were performed on the new compound. The structure provides a unique position in the unit cell for the magnetic trivalent Gd ion. Two magnetic phase transitions were consistently found in dc- and ac-magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity at temperatures Tₙ₁ = 11 K and Tₙ₂ = 20 K, which is an indication of the complex magnetic behavior in this compound. The compound is found to be metamagnetic over a range of temperatures below and above Tₙ₁. From field-dependent electrical resistivity, it is confirmed that the compound shows unusual negative magnetoresistance in the antiferromagnetically ordered region. These results contribute to a better understanding of this class of materials.

Keywords: complex magnetic behavior, metamagnetic, negative magnetoresistance, two magnetic phase transitions

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Authors: Aliakbar Sayadi, Thomas Neitzert, Charles Clifton

Abstract:

The hydration process of a green concrete with differences on fly ash and the poly-lactic acid ratio was investigated using electrical resistivity measurement. The results show that the hydration process of proposed concrete was significantly different with concrete containing petroleum aggregate. Moreover, a microstructure analysis corresponding to each hydration stage is conducted with scanning microscope for ploy-lactic acid and expanded polystyrene concrete. In addition, specific equations using the variables of this study were developed to understand and predict the relationship between setting time and resistivity development of proposed concrete containing eco-friendly aggregate.

Keywords: green concrete, SEM, hydration mechanism, eco-friendly aggregate

Procedia PDF Downloads 321